Frank and everyone whose toes I stepped on,
Wow! I guess I wasn't quite clear. It seems that quite a few people have taken this very personal. Please allow me to clarify, right after I apologize to those who feel that if they do not share my opinions they are not worth knowing. My strong opionons are ONLY related to parting out original and intact vintage bikes. I do feel that those bikes should be left intact and not sold of to maximize profits. Actual cases of intact bikes are quite unusual and parting them out is even more rare. I'm sure very few if any of you fall into that catagory. Sure, it's not a crime, but it makes me sad that someone values the few dollars more than the historical value of such pieces. It makes me a little angry, as you can see, when it does happen.
As far as riding vintage frames with modern parts, that's your business. I'm not a snob about such things. As a matter of fact I probably care lesss than many people out there. I do believe if you have vintage bikes they should be ridden in most cases. If that means fitting up some parts that work for you, be my guest. My personal taste is to experience the bike the way it was in the period of it's manufacture. I like to struggle with a 5 speed freewheel and friction shifting. That's what I grew up with. I pretty much never go out for a ride just to ride, so to me it isn't neccessary to have a more comfortable saddle or more effecient shifting or whatever one might need to make the riding more pleasurable. I only ride on vintage rides with the vintage crowd; so for me the pleasure comes from the company and the atmosphere of being with others who dig old bikes. I dig new bikes too, sort of, but I don't have any other than vintage style bikes I build for myself. I still use non indexing shifting except for about two of my 60 bikes. Ride what you want, what you like, what makes you happy. The fence is for those who feel confortable parting out intact classics for money. If that isn't you, then you need not be offended. Sorry if that wasn't perfectly clear.
There are lots of people who I don't know on the list. Many were offended and felt I have no interest in knowing them. Frankly, I'm a little surprised how few of you know me as well. Certainly you don't really believe I'm a bike snob? Seriously. Nor do I have any interest in dictating policy of what is genuine interest in vintage bikes. I just let my emotions regarding parting out bikes for money spill way over the bounds of my intentions. Please forgive my mistake. I'll be more careful in the future. I do upon occassion allow my passion for classic bikes run rampant in directions that are not my intention.
Brian Baylis La Mesa, CA Subject to mistakes and human error on more than one occassion.